Community Support in the midst of the Black Forest Fire

Clients & Friends,

Almost a year after the Waldo Canyon Fire, the past week has yet again been challenging for our city. Many of our clients, friends and their employees have been affected by the fires in our community, and we’re all looking for ways to help others cope with this event. Please know that you have our support, and as a firm, we would be honored to provide solutions or resources to anyone in need. Here are a few things to consider:

1. If you haven’t been affected by the Black Forest fire, please consider a donation to support those who have been affected. BiggsKofford is making a special donation to Care & Share and the Red Cross. Click here if you would like to learn how you can join us and make donations to the local non-profit organizations supporting our community.

2. If you’ve lost income or your business has been been affected, you might consider if your business has insurance coverage to replace lost income, in addition to more obvious property coverage you might have. Sometimes umbrella policies are overlooked and you end up missing benefits that you paid for.

3. In addition to business coverage, some homeowner policies include additional benefits, beyond the home itself (i.e. lost income, relocation costs, temporary housing, business records, etc.). Remember to capture those costs, document them, and make a complete claim. Don’t forget to claim coverage that you’ve paid for. If you might be evacuated be sure to use your smart phone to take pictures and video of your contents before you leave, should you need to make an insurance claim.

4. We also suggest creating a personal disaster recovery plan (maintaining backup records, documenting assets in your home and business, create an “evacuation packing list”, etc.). Other ideas to help with this type of planning can be found here.

5. Other resources can be found here:

Pikes Peak Region Business Recovery Fund: Through a community collaboration of banks, the Colorado Springs Regional Business Alliance and other community partners, Colorado Enterprise Fund is offering a special loan program of up to $10,000 to help rebuild small businesses in the Pikes Peak region.

Small Business Development Center, hosted by the UCCS College of Business, offering assistance to the fire-affected businesses: visit www.elpasoco.com.

Humane Society of the Pikes Peak Region offering food and shelter for evacuated animals: call 719-473-1741 if you’ve lost an animal.

BiggsKofford is a proud member of this community. It is going to take effort and support from everyone to get past this disaster. If you have need for personal support during this natural disaster, we would be happy to help you.